


café con leche

by peachy-ivqn (drqco)



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, Jealousy, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-27 23:36:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15695676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drqco/pseuds/peachy-ivqn
Summary: in which luka works in a coffee shop, figures out that ivan is best name in the universe, and ultimately comes to the conclusion that the only person who needed to know was him.





	café con leche

**Author's Note:**

> so, i actually almost didn't post this fic, lmao. but after a little nudge by @tinymodric on tumblr, i figured it would be better if i did post it. (hi, i was the anon haha.) but anyway, i made it pretty fluffy (with very light angst in the middle) bc literally,,,, in the span of a week,,,, suba, mario, and čarli have retired from croatia nt :(( i hope y'all enjoy this fic and i hope it brightens y'alls day's a little bit after the events of this week :((
> 
> (also sorry for the bad summary lmao.)

"Luka! We have another customer!" Luka heard his co-worker and friend, Dejan, call out. He was falling asleep on his chair in the back, he was really tired from yesterday. They had so much work to do and not to mention the goats he needed to tend to. 

He cursed himself inwardly for choosing to work this early on a Saturday. His short haired friend must regret it too, as he was angrily sorting and slamming down tea packets on the counter. He went up to the counter, put a smile on his face, and waited to greet their first customer of the day. 

The coffee shop wasn't as popular as all the other shops around the area, but they still had a lot of customers. Most of them were regulars. He even knew some of their orders by heart. And his friends came here all the time, it was another plus. 

The person who walks in has a smile on his face, and he was way too cheery for the morning. At the corner of his eye, he sees Dejan's eyes light up, before wiggling his eyebrows him. Luka tries not to punch him right then and there. 

"Good morning, what can I get you?" Luka says cheerfully, and suddenly, his tiredness is gone. The man had chopped blonde hair, the complete opposite of his long, golden locks. He has a big grin and wore some kind of sport shirt. 'An athlete', Luka thinks. He's never seen him around though, and they lived in a small city. He's probably new. Like himself. 

"What can I get for you?" Luka asks, voice cracking at the end of his sentence. The man waits a second, his green eyes scanning the menu. 

"Ah, café con leche, large, please. That must be your signature drink, no?" The man says. Luka chuckles, inputting his order into their system. "Haha, yes. We have the best around here. But I'm probably biased," He smiles at him. He was really awkward and he could see the smirk forming on Marcelo's face already. "Anything else?" Luka asks, tilting his head to the side. 

"No, it's fine," The man gives Luka his signature smile. Luka can't believe he already has a name for his smile. He gives him the price and in return, the man pays. He can't help but notice the money he slips into their tip jar. "And what's your name?" Luka asks, taking a pen and cup to write his name. "Ivan," he says with no hesistation. Luka blushes when he sees him wink at him. 

During his whole shift, he doesn't let the name 'Ivan' out of his mind. He hasn't met a lot of people, but he soon comes to the conclusion that 'Ivan' is the best name in the world. 

\--- 

Ivan always comes during his shift. The fact that Ivan even knows when it is is kind of concerning. What had his friends been telling him? 

It's already the next week, and he's with Dejan again. Danjiel was here also, he had just come back from vacation. Dejan tells him all the details about Ivan and himself. 

"Luka has a boyfriend!" Dejan exclaims when Dan arrives, and Luka, again, resists the urge to punch him in the nose. "I don't! Don't trust him, Dan!" Luka angrily says, crossing his arms. Dan's eyes widen, a mischevious grin on his face. "Finally! What's his name?" He says, ignoring Luka. At this point, he's stopped arguing. Dejan has basically told everyone and their mothers about him and Ivan. 

"Ivan. You know, one time, he came in here and asked me when Luka's shift was. He leaves a tip every time Luka's at the register! He always says, "Oh, is Luka here? Oh, he isn't? I'll come tomorrow, then—" Luka stops him short by punching him in the arm. Punching Dejan was usually not the best idea, as Dejan would punch even harder. "I am not with Ivan! And he doesn't like me, alright?" He crosses his arms. Dan pets his hair, but doesn't push it any further. "Whatever you say," Dan laughs. And, as if on cue, Ivan walks in. 

He wasn't alone though, he was with two other guys. One of them has long, blonde hair, and the other has very curly short, dark hair. Though he loves Ivan's hair the best (was he biased?). His eyes shine in the morning sunlight and his angelic laughter fills the empty cafe. Ivan greets him with a, "Hi, Luka!" And does his heart flutter like a lovestruck teen? Yes it does. 

He was closer to Ivan now, but he only knows basic things. He was a bit younger than him, he was from Croatia too, and he enjoyed playing football. Ivan liked to talk to him as he ordered his drink. Sometimes, he talked to him longer if there weren't too many customers at that time. 

"Hi, Ivan. The usual?" He says, already imputting Ivan's order. He nods, nudging his friends for their orders. "Oh, Black coffee," The curly haired one says, his laughter disappearing. The man was staring at something, or someone? All Luka knew was that he wasn't looking at him. He imputted his order and the longer haired man's order, which was green tea. "Oh and your names?" Luka smiled, already writing Ivan's name. 

"Šime." 

"Vida," They each said. He takes their money and gives Ivan a small nod of thanks when he sees him slip his usual tip in the jar. Instead of Ivan talking to him for a bit, they leave to find a table. He kind of wished they talked. 

As he turns around to give Dejan and Danjiel the cups, he finds Dejan staring at the one man named Šime. Luka chuckles, snapping his fingers in front of his face. "Earth to Dejo! Black coffee!" He exclaims. Dejan jumps a little in shock, shaking his head as if he was taken back to earth from la la land. 

"His name is Šime," Luka provides, winking. A small smile appears on his face, before he starts preparing their drinks. Luka goes back to the register to wait for guests, but he picks up the conversation from Ivan and his friends. 

"—ask him, Šime!" 

"Yeah, what's the worse that could happen?" 

"—says you. You've been pining for that barista for what, the last two weeks? And you still haven't made a move." 

Luka looks over at them, tucking his hair behind his ear. Ivan catches his eye, who blushes and turns away. Luka's heart soars a little bit, and he bites his lip. The small smile on his face quickly turns into a big grin. He was about to fall into a daze when Dejan shoved him a bit. "Luka. Hand deliver these, please. Then, give Šime this note," Dejan says, putting the note on Šime's drink. "And stop being a coward and ask Ivan on a date or something. Your pining for him is getting unbearable. Okay, go," Dejan says like a mother. He hands him the carton of drinks and shoves him out. 

He stumbles, but is still light on his feet. He walks over to them, his eyes only on Ivan. He hands Vida his drink and Ivan's coffee to him. There's a look of longing on Ivan's face that Luka can't really place. He tucks his hair behind his ear again, and contemplates Dejan's advice for him. Instead, he hands Šime the drink and note. 

"It's from Dejan," He says, pointing over to Dejan behind the counter. Dejan waves excitedly, the biggest grin on his face. Šime nods at him, and Luka would be lying if he said he didn't see the blush on Šime's face. He turns to Ivan, who tilts his head as if he's waiting for something too. Instead of asking him out, he simply just ruffles Ivan's hair and heads back behind the counter. Dejan looks at him with sparkling eyes, "what did he say? Did you ask him out?" Dan simply shakes his head, laughing to himself. 

"He didn't say anything. And no, I didn't ask him," Luka shrugs, rubbing his arm. Dejan shakes him a little by the shoulders, shaking his head. "You're insane, Luka. But thank you," He says in a condescending tone. He nods, chuckling at his tone. He goes back to his place behind the register and takes a glance at Ivan again. Ivan catches him looking and he grins, but he still has that look of longing on his face. He wished he knew what it meant. 

\--- 

The next week was a whirlwind. 

He needed to train new employees this week, but he still kept his shift with Dejan and Dan on Saturday. He was in a somber mood already, he started to work overtime more often, he still needed money to support his studies at Uni over here. But he usually sent most of the money he makes to his family. They needed more than usual because of an 'incident with the goats'. 

His workload was also much heavier, with finals coming up and what not. More often than not, Dejan would catch him sleeping on his chair in the back. 

It's Saturday now, the usual time Ivan comes in. Ivan was really the highlight of Luka's day. He quickly tucked his hair behind his ears, awaiting Ivan's arrival. Sure enough, Ivan comes in. But he isn't alone. 

He is with a woman, with long, blonde hair and pale skin. She was really pretty, her eyes being the center of attention. She's laughing loudly too, and there's an arm slung around her shoulder. For a few moments, Luka is speechless, maybe even heartbroken. There's a frown on his face, but as they approach, he quickly turns it into a smile. 'Too late', Luka thought in his head. Ivan was already with someone. 

In some way, he knew Ivan would get sick of him eventually. Luka knew he wasn't handsome or suave like Ivan, it made sense. God, he was a fool to think that Ivan actually liked him like that. "Luka! My regular and a cappucino, please. How are you?" Ivan asks him, still laughing from earlier. "I'm good," is all he can get out right now. He does his work efficiently and puts the money in the register, tapping his fingers against the marble counter. He takes the cups, writing 'Ivan' on one. "Your name, please?" He asks the lady. She gives him a warm smile and giggles, "Nikol." 

'A nice name', Luka says as he writes it down. He doesn't bother to see if Ivan leaves a tip anymore. They walk away and he and Dejan prepare their drinks. 

"I'm sorry, Lukita," Dejan whispers, patting him on the back. Luka shrugs, it is what it is. He didn't even date Ivan anyway. He wonders if he did anything wrong, did he say the wrong thing? Give off the wrong vibe? He finishes their drinks and hands them off to Dan to call out the order. He runs a hand through his golden hair, he missed his chance. He watches them walk off, Ivan simply gives him a small wave, which he pretends he didn't see. He watches Ivan sling an arm around Nikol, and it hurt. He felt like a teenager, it was pathetic. 

And if he left his shift that day with his heart heavy, nobody needed to know. 

\--- 

Ivan returned with Nikol for a few more days, and every time Luka saw them together, it was like a little jab at him. But Ivan seemed happy, and that was what he wanted for him. 

It's Saturday again, but he really wasn't in the mood to see Ivan with Nikol again. It reminded him of last Saturday, when she first walked in with him. And he really didn't want to hurt again. 

Ivan walks in at the usual time, though he's not wearing his usual shorts and shirt. He looked more cleaned up, clean shaven with a nice button up and pants. He wasn't with Nikol this time. But Luka couldn't bear to look at him or speak with him, he turned around and let Dejan handle him for now. From where Luka was standing, he could hear snippets of Ivan and Dejan's conversation, "—is Luka here?" 

"Yes, actually. He wants to talk to you—" 

"Oh, then may I talk to him?" 

Dejan walks over to him, tapping his shoulder. He signals towards Ivan and Luka can't help but sigh and take his order. "The regular, I know," He says sternly, taking his cup and angrily scribbling 'Ivan' on it. "Ah, no. And an orange Fanta," He hears Ivan say. Luka finally looks up at him, quirking his head to the side. A fanta? He never gets one. It causes Luka to chuckle, before turning around to grab a Fanta from their refridgerator (he didn't exactly know why they sold soda here. Didn't they work at a coffee shop?).

"There's your smile and laugh. I almost had to file a missing smile report, it hasn't been on your face for the past week. Is anything wrong, Luka?" Ivan says gently. Luka doesn't know if Ivan is taunting him or being genuinely concerned. He looks down and tries not to smile at Ivan's words, but he ultimately fails. "Nothing is wrong. I'm good, Ivan," He lies, he's thankful he is a good liar. But Ivan doesn't look like he believes it. In an effort to change the subject, he says, "How are you and that woman, Nikol, doing? Is she coming? Is the Fanta for her? I think her favorite drink is a cappucino though, she orders it whenever you two come in—" He rambles on mindlessly. He's cut off when, to his surprise, Ivan starts laughing at him. He was already doubled over, gripping the counter tightly. Was this some sick joke? "Why're you laughing?" He stammers out, rubbing the back of his neck in shame. It takes a few moments for Ivan to calm down, but he still laughs as he speaks. "Nikol is my sister, Luka!" He exclaims, and this causes him to laugh even harder. 

Luka himself stands there speechless, mouth forming an 'o'. He should've seen it, the same blonde hair, same eyes, they were even around he same height. "Oh," He says quietly, nervously laughing. He shifts between his two feet, he was stupid. Ivan finally calms down and hands Luka his money, but Luka can't help but smile at him again. In that moment, it seemed like Luka hadn't gone through a week of heartbreak prior. "Why do you ask?" Ivan asks, wiggling his eyebrows. Luka giggles, _giggles_ , at the action before answering his question. The same look of longing is displayed on Ivan's face again. It looks like he wants something, or is waiting. Luka shrugs, "Don't know. Just wanted to know, I guess." 

Ivan slips his tip into the tip jar again and walks away, the biggest grin on his face. Luka turns around, bumping into Dejan. Dejan looks at him with a death grin, slinging an arm around him. "Now or never, Luka," He smirks. His hands shake as he makes Ivan's drink. When he finishes, he musters up all the courage he has to ask him. 'This is his chance', he thinks. "Ivan!" He calls out, holding his drink up for him. He shuffles his feet, anxiety levels through the roof. He can feel Dan and Dejan's eyes staring into him. Ivan comes over, and he tucks his hair behind his ear. "I like it when you do that," Ivan compliments him. And it's like his brain short-circuted, he can't even say a simple thank you. Ivan takes his drink with a whispered, "Thank you". But he doesn't leave. This is his chance, right? 

"Ivan." 

"Luka." 

They say it the exact same time, it feels like Luka's in a movie or something. They both chuckle, and he hears Dejan groan behind him. He knows he will tease him about this later. Luka recovers first, "Ah, you first," he says nervously. Ivan blushes, and he feels as if Dejan has had enough. "Jesus Christ! Get on with it—" Dejan says loudly, but he hears Dan punch him somewhere, cutting him off. They should really hurry it up, there was another customer coming in. 

"Ah, Luka. I was uh, just wondering if you'd like to uh, go out with me? A date. Whenever you're free. To dinner. Or whatever you'd like, actually," Ivan stammers out. Luka has never seen Ivan this nervous before. And if his brain short circuted earlier just from a compliment, he shuts down at Ivan's question. "O-Oh, I mean, are you sure? I-I'm honestly not that great—" He rambles on, but Dejan kicks him in the shin, and he re-answers Ivan's question. 

"What I mean is that, yes. Okay. Great. Amazing, actually. Of course! I'm free tomorrow, yes. Oh and uh, I need to give you this," He stammers, grabbing a napkin and writing down his number on it. His friends were going to tease him endlessly for this. He doesn't blame him, he was extremely awkward when it came to these situations. He puts the napkin into Ivan's hand, and Ivan smiles brightly. 

"Tomorrow will work. I'll call you later, since you guys must be getting busy," He motions at his napkin with the number on it, before saying a, "bye Luka!" and turning away. There's still courage in Luka's body, so he speaks without thinking and says, "Wait, Ivan, you forgot something!" He calls out. A look of thanks washes over Ivan's face, and he turns back around to go over to Luka. When Ivan gets close enough, Luka leans over and kisses him on the cheek, a smirk on his face. "A kiss. I'll see you tomorrow, Ivan," He whispers in his ear. When he pulls away, Ivan looks shocked, his whole face beet red. Ivan nervously smiles, and walks away, his smile quickly turning into laughter. 

When Ivan leaves, he pumps his fists up into the air. A victory. Dejan and Dan force him back into his position big smiles on their faces. There's a loopy grin on his face his whole shift. The whole day, actually. And if he fell asleep that night with Ivan and his green eyes on his mind, no one needed to know.


End file.
